Gentle hands

اللَّطِيفُ

al-Laṭīf · The Subtle and Gentle

Have you ever held a baby bird, or a butterfly, or a new kitten? You have to be so gentle. Soft hands. Slow movements. Not too tight.

Some creatures are experts at gentle.

A hummingbird is one of the smallest birds in the world. Some are not much bigger than your thumb. It hovers in front of a flower, beating its wings so fast you hear a hum. Then it slips its long, thin beak into the flower to sip the nectar, without tearing a single petal.

A mother crocodile has one of the strongest bites of any animal. But when her babies hatch, she picks them up in her huge jaws so softly that not one gets hurt. Then she carries them down to the water.

Some creatures are experts at noticing tiny things. A male silk moth has feathery feelers on his head. They are so sensitive that he can notice a smell from far away, carried on the wind. Only a tiny, tiny bit of it needs to reach him.

Muslims have a Name for God that is about this kind of gentleness, and about noticing the tiniest things. It is al-Laṭīf. It means the Subtle and the Gentle.

Subtle means very fine, very quiet, very hard to notice. Al-Laṭīf knows the tiniest things. Every speck of dust. Every seed under the ground. Every thought you have not said out loud.

And gentle means His kindness often comes quietly. Not with a bang, but softly, so you only notice later. A friend who sits next to you when you are lonely. Rain that comes just when the garden needs it. A good idea that pops into your head at the right time.

The Qur’an tells the story of Joseph (peace be upon him). Many hard things happened to him, one after another. But when he looked back at his whole life, he saw that good had been quietly coming all along. He said: “My Lord is subtle and gentle in what He wills.”

Jewish people read in the Hebrew Bible about the prophet Elijah (peace be upon him). He was waiting for God on a mountain. First came a great wind, then an earthquake, then a fire. But God was not in those. Then came “a still small voice”.

Christians have a word for quiet kindness too: grace. A Christian woman called Julian of Norwich lived over six hundred years ago. She wrote that God holds everything gently, even something as small as a hazelnut.

So be gentle, and look for gentle things. They are easy to miss.

Watch together

▶Hummingbirds In Slow Motion | BBC Earth · BBC Earth

Hummingbirds hovering and sipping nectar in slow motion, from BBC Earth.

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